Cement finishing mechanism having adjustable rotating drum



United States Patent [72] Inventor [54] CEMENT FINISHING MECHANISMHAVING ADJUSTABLE ROTATING DRUM 1,665,054 4/1928 Carr 94/45 2,587,3212/1952 Hohnke..... 94/45 2,957,396 10/1960 Bederman 94/45 2,962,94812/1960 Tout 94/45 3,270,634 9/1966 Borges 94/45 3,382,784 5/1968Love1and.... 94/45 3,450,011 6/1969 Godbersen 94/45 PrimaryExaminer-Nile C. Byers, Jr. Attorney-Lucas J. De Koster pendent on thedirection of motion of the carriage.

2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 94/45 [51] Int. Cl. E010: 19/22 [50] Field of Search...94/46, 45,

[56] 1 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,533,464 4/1925 Robb94/45 1,550,027 8/1925 Hug 94/45 Patentd Nov. 24, 1970 Sheet INVENTOR.

Gadbarsw Norway igo i Patented Nov. 24, 1970 Sheet Z of2 1 l lil I NVENTOR.

Harold w. Gedbersen BY fi k Hi Mhrney CEMENT FINISHING MECHANISM HAVINGADJUSTABLE ROTATING DRUM This invention pertains to concrete finishingmachines of the type disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,011, issuedJune 17', 1969, and more particularly to the rotating finishing memberusable on the carriage of such a machine.

Previous rotating finishing members on the moving carriage of a cementfinishing machine have generally not been completely satisfactory, inlarge part because of the movement of excess cement to a point where itwas deposited on the finished slab either at one edge of the slab orbehind the machine on the part of the slab already passed over by themember. Several devices have been proposed in an attempt to overcomethis problem. Among the devices is the use of an auger such as proposedin my copending application and the use ofa frustoconical drum member.

Both of these are partially satisfactory, but somewhat expensive. Theauger, in particular works well for larger amounts of concrete, and isstill useful even with my new device. However, I have discovered that byplacing the roller at an angle such that the concrete is pushed not onlysideway, but slightly forward, much of the problem is solved, since theconcrete is then in a place forward of the roller to be picked up in thenext pass over the slab and deposited in voids which might otherwise beleft.

A more complete understanding of my invention in its embodiment may behad from a study of the following specification and the FIGS. in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view ofthe carriage ofa finishing machineshowing my roller in place,

FIG. 2 is a plan view from line 2-2 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a detailed view to an enlarged scale of the locking device orthe turntable device of the carriage.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view similar to FIG. 2 of an alternative formofmy invention.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the device of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the device of FIG. 4.

Briefly my invention comprises a cement slab finishing machine in whichthe finishing rollers are set at an angle to the direction of travel ofthe machine such that excess cement will he moved forwardly and out ofthe way to be picked up on the next pass. The axis of the roller may bemovable or fixed, and double rollers may be used to provide the sameeffect.

More specifically and referring to the drawings, my device is adapted tobe used on a carriage 10 similar to that described and shown in myaforementioned copending application. The carriage moves laterally of aconcrete slab by riding on a bridgework 12 carried by rails 13 alongsidethe slab. Thus, in FIG. I, the-bridgework would be carried to the leftin steps as each swath was finished. The carriage would be moved on thebridgework toward or away from the viewer, and therefore laterallyacross the slab. A motor 14 either hydraulic or electric may be mountedon the carriage 10 to provide for the lateral motion, or the motor maybe mounted on the bridgework and pull the carriage by means of cables orthe like across the bridgework.

My invention in its simplest form comprises a carrier 15 for thedrumtype finishing member 16 which carrier is mounted on the carriage 10to pivot relative thereto on a vertical axis. A ring 17 is mounted onthe underside of the carriage 10 adjacent to the carrier 15 This ringincludes a circumferential flange 18 (FIG. 3) which helps to provide arelatively sturdy and stable support to prevent undue tilting of thecarrier 15. Clamping means l9 adapted to be clamped down onto, theflange 18 are provided to hold the carrier in any desired adjustedposition.

A drive motor 20 is mounted on the carrier l5. This motor drives thedrum 16 through a chain drive 21. My preferred embodiment would alsoinclude an auger 22 for moving the larger amounts of excessmaterial fromin front of my device. The operation of this auger is completelydescribed in my previously mentioned application.

The operation of this device is relatively simple. I have discoveredthat by canting the axis of rotation of the drum 16 at an angle to thelongitudinal axis of the slab 11 such that the upwardly rotating side ofthe drum is slightly turned toward the unfinished part of the slab, theoperation is much more satisfactory. In this position, excess concreteengaged by the upward moving side of the drum is moved not onlylaterally of the slab 11 but also longitudinally slightly toward theunfinished part thereof. Thus, the excess concrete slides off the partof the drum which is adjacent to the unfinished part of the slab. Thisexcess then simply piles up and is again in position to be smoothed bythe roller 16 when it comes back for the next pass.

It will be apparent that the carrier 15 may be turned to an oppositeangle at the end of each pass. I have illustrated a manually operateddevice in which a clamp is applied to hold the device. It will beobvious that power mechanisms could be used to accomplish the sameturning. A reversible drive may be necessary to reverse the rotation ofthe roller also.

An alternative device is shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. This device utilizesa pair of rotating drums 16'. These drums are mounted on a carrier 25which may be pivotally attached to the carriage I0 or may be fixedthereto. In the preferred arrangement, as shown, there is no need of apivotal mounting since I provide for a movable mounting for each roller.

The rollers 16' are journalled in bearings on the carrier at a locationrelatively close together on the front end. Universal joints 26 areprovided so that the shaft may be perpendicular to the front face 28 ofthe carrier although the rollers are at a different angle thereto. Abelt and pulley drive 29 or gear and chain drive is adapted to transmitpower and motion from a motor 30 to the rollers as well as to the augerdevice 22 extending in front of the carrier. It will be noted that thedrive 29 (FIG. 6) is arranged so that the drums 16 are driven in adirection such that the outer surfaces of each drum move upwardly. Thisis in accord with the operation of my device as explained above.

At the rear, the rollers 16 have shafts journalled in bearings onmovable mounts 32 which may be bolted or otherwise removably fastened toa sector 33 (FIG. 4) on the carrier. Thus the angle of each roller maybe changed within limits by moving'the mounts 32 to a different locationon the sector, thereby changing the angle at which the roller 16 willmeet the concrete during lateral movement of the carriage.

With this latter device, the carriage can be moved alternately back andforth across the slab making a finishing pass each I time, and each timehaving a roller in position properly to finish the slab. Thus it wouldbe possible to avoid having to change the angle of the carrier on eachpass and still to utilize the movement of thecarriage in eitherdirection.

Having thus described my invention in its embodiment, I am aware thatnumerous andextensive departures may be made therefrom without departingfrom the spirit and scope of th invention as limited only by thefollowing claims. I

Iclaim: 1

1. Concrete slab finishing means comprising bridge w'ork adapted to beplaced over a slab of concrete, a carriage movably mounted on saidbridge work for motion across said slab, carrier means on said carriage,drum means rotatively mounted on said carrier means in a position toengage said slab, drive means in driving engagement with said drum meansto drive said drum means rotatively, said drum means being positionedrelative to said carriage such that the side of said drum means firstengaging the unfinished concrete is moving upwardly, said carriagehaving a front end facing the unfinished slab of concrete, said drummeans having an axis of rotation lying at an angle with the line ofmotion of said carriage which is other than a right angle, the upwardmoving side of said drum means having a surface facing partially towardsaid front end, auger means in driven relationship with said drum meansand extending beyond said front end of said carriage in a position toengage said unfinished concrete.

2. The device of claim I in which said carrier means is pivotallymounted on said carriage, and in which said drive means comprises amotor mounted on said carrier in driven driven by said axle wherebyexcess concrete in said slab is moved away from said front end.

